Just so we don't forget who helped the Trumpster into POTUS
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to see Donald Trump become the next president of the United States. To that end, Putin and his government have taken unprecedented steps to influence our electoral process to help the Republican Partys nominee. Whether Russias interventions will succeed is not obvious. But its clear that Putins government has the motives and the means to try.
Putin has rational motives for wanting Trump to win: Trump champions many foreign policies that Putin supports. Trumps most shocking, pro-Kremlin proposal is to look into recognition of Crimea as a part of Russia. President Obama and nearly every member of Congress Republican and Democrat have rejected that idea vigorously. Only Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela have recognized Russias annexation of Crimea. Naturally, Putin would love to see the United States join that list.
Russian President Vladimir Putin calls presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump "a flamboyant person" and welcomes his calls to restore US-Russia relations. (Reuters)
Trump also has made clear his disdain for the United States alliances around the world. Demonstrating his misunderstanding of how NATO works, Trump has demanded that other NATO members essentially pay us for protection, making many of our allies, especially in the eastern part of Europe, nervous about his commitment to defend them. Trump has also disparaged our allies in Asia, creating new opportunities for Russian influence. On trade, Trumps promises to disrupt our agreements also play right into Putins agenda. From Putins perspective, what could be a better way to start the New Year than a trade war between the United States and China or Mexico? Trumps threats to stop paying our debts also would radically undermine our credibility as a lender, another desirable outcome for Putin.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/why-putin-wants-a-trump-victory-so-much-he-might-even-be-trying-to-help-him/2016/08/17/897ab21c-6495-11e6-be4e-23fc4d4d12b4_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.82f5b7efbd04